Cakes are very popular no matter what age you are. However, most people never take the step to actually baking their own. When asked why, the 2 most popular answers are they don’t have time or they lack the skills to do it.
In reality, baking a cake can be easy, and it doesn’t have to take long. The key is to start with recipes that are quick and simple. This almost guarantees an excellent result. After a success under your belt, you will naturally want another challenge. Basically, success breeds success, and the only thing that was really holding you back was procrastination.
Therefore, what is a quick and simple recipe that produces a great tasting cake?
If you are looking for a light, super moist cake that is easy to make, banana cake is the way to go. Our easy banana cake recipe really is a simple and delicious cake for a beginner to bake.
What is Banana Cake?
Banana cake, a dessert or breakfast item, is a light and fruity cake or loaf you can enjoy any time of the year.
The cake can be made from various ingredients – the common denominator will always be mashed banana. Using ripe bananas gives your cake a more intense flavour.
There are many types of banana cake and these differ in the types and amounts of ingredients used, the cooking temperature and time, as well as the fillings and toppings added to the basic cake. A common theme includes bananas combined with sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder, butter, and all-purpose flour. Other additions include honey, walnuts, or pecans for additional flavour and texture.
Banana cake is perfect for people who are allergic to eggs or dairy products since it is possible to make it without including them. It also doesn’t need any frosting because of the natural sweetness of bananas.
However, if you prefer, there are many fillings and toppings that complement a basic banana cake, e.g. cream cheese frosting.
Novices can easily learn to bake banana cake from scratch using just a few ingredients and steps. Rather than having to use a scale to weigh everything, we have simplified the recipe to just using a standard cup measurement. So let’s get to it!
Easy Banana Cake Recipe
EQUIPMENT
Bowl to mix ingredients
Electric hand mixer with low and medium speeds
Either 9-inch (22.5cm) square cake tin or 10-inch (25cm) round cake tin (see recipe conversion guide) greased and flour. Alternatively, you could use a 9-inch x 13-inch (22.5cm x 32.5cm) rectangular baking tin.
Toothpick or fork
Wire cooling frame
BAKING TIME
Preheat oven to 176C (350F or Gas Mark 4)
Bake for around 40-45 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Shortening (soft) or butter or margarine – ¾ cup
Sugar – 1½ cups
Bananas – 1 cup (around 3 mashed bananas)
Milk – ½ cup
Eggs – 2x
Vanilla extract- 1 teaspoon
Flour (all-purpose) – 2 cups
Baking Soda – 1 teaspoon
Baking Powder – 1 teaspoon
Salt – ¼ teaspoon
METHOD
1) Mix shortening (or butter or margarine) and sugar with hand mixer at low speed.
2) Add in the banana and keep mixing at low speed.
3) Add in milk, eggs and vanilla extract and increase mixing speed to medium. Aim to achieve a creamy texture.
4) Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt on low speed for 1 minute. After 1 minute, raise to medium speed. Aim for creamy smooth mixture.
5) Pour into baking tin. Tap them to remove air bubbles.
6) Put baking tins in the oven for around 40-45 minutes.
7) Remove cake tin from oven and test by inserting a toothpick or fork into it. If it comes out clean, the cake is baked. If not, return to the oven for a few more minutes and retest.
8) Allow the cake to cool, before removing it and allowing it to cool on the wire cooling frame.
9) Eat the cake as is, or alternatively, you can create a layered cake. Simply cut the cake in half and place one half on top of the other with a simple filling in between. The filling can be as easy as using chocolate spread. A topping will enhance the taste and appearance. It can be as simple as just a dusting of powdered (icing) sugar.
Summary
Our easy banana cake recipe makes a good example of this type of delicious cake. In general, banana cake is middle-of-the-road calorie wise. For example, according to the USDA, if we compare the calories of a standardised cake portion (1/12 of a 10-inch cake), we find:
- sponge cake prepared from a recipe is 187,
- banana cake (without icing or filling) is 371, and
- chocolate cake with icing is 537.
One factor accounting for this is the different density of the three cakes. A slice of light and fluffy sponge cake is 63g (2.2 oz), banana cake is 87g (3.1oz), and chocolate cake is 138g (4.9 oz).
Once you have tried our recipe, you might consider changing the ingredients a little. You can make many variations of banana cake, especially if you use different dried fruits in the mix e.g. apricots, blueberries, cranberries, pears, prunes, raisins, etc. Nutritionally, banana cake is a source of various vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and zinc.
Overall, banana cake is a reasonably healthy food when eaten as part of a balanced diet.
